Compartmented container package



Oct. 31 1967 H. J. WANDERER COMPARTMENTED CONTAINER PACKAGE FINE a .m 16 5 fi m MUM v Y -m h .51 .111 WI v w A m t l O f m fiQbIV/JZIV/f/l/fb 2M S 8 2 I 2 O H 5'47! and m H 4 d m V 3 n I W HM L H A I/ III III m I II 4 4 III III w M I- n r h\ D. A w "I. .6 2 2 H 8% w 6 M 2 l 4 2 2 HisArr' s Oct. '31, 1967 H. J. WANDERER 3,349,941

COMPARTMENTED CONTA INER PACKAGE Filed April 25, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR. F4192 J Herbert J Wanderer His A ")5 Patented Oct. 31, 19673,349,941 COMPARTMENTED CONTAINER PACKAGE Herbert Jourdan Wanderer,Elmhurst, Ill., assignor to Illinois Tool Works Inc., Chicago, Ill., acorporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 25, 1966, Ser. No. 545,031 8 Claims.(Cl. 220-17) The present invention relates to a compartmented containerpackage, and more particularly, to a container package composed of aseries of discrete elements which subdivide the package intocompartments for packaging different foodstuffs or other products in thesame container, but in different compartments.

The food industry is continually developing new products andexperimenting with different food combinations to meet the desires ofconsumers. Combining two or more foods in a single package, such asfreeze-dried fruit with dry cereal has proven to be commerciallysuccessful, and has stimulated food manufacturers to try other foodcombinations. Where the combined food products are desirably kept apartfrom each other until reaching the hands of the consumer, it becomesnecessary to give consideration to compartmented type container packageswhich separate two or more products in different areas.

Various types of compartmented container packages have heretofore beenproposed in meeting various requirements. A compartmented containerpackage has not been developed, however, which meets the demands ofcertain food products such as, for example, cottage cheese and freshfruit combinations. These food products have a high moisture content andspoil quite easily, and thus is important to have a sanitary, leak-proofpackage which provides a hermetic seal between the various compartmentsin the package, and yet which affords unidirectional venting of gaseouspressure generated by the fermentation of food products containedtherein, but without separation of the compartments from each other. Theease of assembly and removal of the container compartments from eachother, even where there is no problem of gas generation, is an importantconsideration in the development of a commercially acceptable package.Other considerations come into play in meeting the demands of variousproducts, and this will become apparent in the ensuing discussion.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novelcompartmented container package incorporating one or more of the abovementioned features.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide acompartmented container package which facilitates assembly and removalof the various compartments or elements in the package from each otherwithout spilling the contents thereof.

Still another object of the present invention is the provision of anovel compartmented container package which provides a hermeticallysealed environment for the products contained in the compartments of thepackage while affording unidirectional venting therefrom under certainprescribed conditions soas to be self-venting in character.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a novelcompartmented container package which, in addition to the aforementionedobjects, assures efiicient storage, separation and dispensing ofsimilarly configured compartments or elements from each other.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of acontainer package of the aforenoted type wherein each element thereof isnot only sanitary, leakproof and sturdy, but which also can beeconomically mas produced under conventional thermoforming techniques aspresently known.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following description when taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the novel compartmentedcontainer package incorporating the features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view, partly in section, of the compartmentedcontainer package of the present invention with the elements orcomponents thereof assembled to one another;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing the assembledcomponents or elements of the herein disclosed compartmented containerpackage;

FIG. 4 is also an enlarged fragmentary section view on a slightlysmaller scale than FIG. 3, and illustrating the manner in which thecomponent or elements of the package coact with one another in providingunidirectional venting of gaseous pressure emanating from the contentsin the compartments of the package; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged elevational view, partly in section on a slightlysmaller scale than FIG. 4 and depicting a plurality of stacked innercompartment container elements, each of which form a part of acompartmented container package as will become apparent.

Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there will be seen acompartmented container package generally designated 10 which includesan outer container 12, an inner container 14, and a lid member 16. Eachof the element 12, 14 and 16 of the compartmented container package 10are preferably formed as one-piece, seamless units from thermoplasticmaterial such as high impact polystyrene. The use of plastic materialhas gained wide spread acceptance throughout the packaging industry,particularly where one-piece, seamless elements have been employedbecause of the economical, mass producing capabilities of thermoformingtechniques which are being used today by packaging manufacturers on alarge scale.

In the compartmented container package 10, the outer container 12 isadapted to receive the inner container or compartment 14, the latter inturn receiving the lid member 16, all as is shown in FIGS. 2-3 of thedrawings. The outer container or tub 12 has a bottom wall 20 which isaxially concave upwards in the manner shown in FIG. 2, a circumferentialside wall 22 which diverges upwardly and outwardly therefrom, and whichterminates in a rim 24 of increased lateral width and height relative tothe side wall thickness. As shown in the drawing, the rim 24 is rolledor folded back upon itself, and while this is the preferred form, itwill be understood that rims which may be crushed or formed as solidbeads, and in various shapes, may be employed. The rim 24 surrounds theopen mouth or open upper end of the container as will be apparent.

Intermediate the bottom wall 20 and the rim 24 of the outer container 12is a stacking ring construction 26 including an internal shoulder 28 andan external shoulder 30, the internal shoulder 28 having a smallerminimum diameter by more than twice the side wall thickness of thecontainer so as to provide an intermediate back tapered supportingsection 32 which will afford a resilient action to a stack of containerswhen telescopically received one Within the other as specificallydiscussed in US. Patent No. 3,139,213, Spaced upwardly from the stackingarea 26 of the outer container 12 is an internal groove or lid seat 34which is formed by radially outwardly offset portions of the containerside wall 22. More specifically, the internal groove or lid seat 34includes a generally horizontally directed lower portion 36 which isintegrally connected to the upper internal shoulder 28 of the stack-.ing ring 26, a vertically directed section 38 which deter mines theaxially height of the internal groove or lid seat 34, and an inclined,but radially inwardly directed portion 40 which integrally joins orconnects the generally vertical section 38 with portions of the sidewall 22 in the vicinity of the open mouth of the container 12. Variousshapes and sizes of internal grooves or lid seats 34 may be employed,and in this connection, reference is made to US. Patent No. 3,061,139which shows various representative forms and sizes.

The outer container 12 just described is generally conventionallyemployed throughout the thin-walled thermoplastic packaging field bymany manufacturers. The capacity of such containers vary from four tothirty-two ounces depending upon the diameter and axial height of thecontainer, and it is to be understood that the outer container 12 is tobe considered with this in mind.

The inner container 14 includes as best seen in FIG. 2 of the drawings abottom wall 44 which is axially concave upwards in the same manner asthe bottom wall 20 of outer container 12, a circumferentially extendingside wall 46 which diverges upwardly and outwardly from the bottom wall44, and which terminates in the same manner as the outer container 12 ina circumferential rim 48 having an axial height and lateral extentgreater than the thickness of the side wall 46. The axial height of theside wall 46 is substantially shorter than the side wall 22 of the outercontainer 12 for telescopic reception of the inner container 14 thereinwhile assuring spacing of the bottom walls 20, 44 of the outer and innercontainers respectively a predetermined distance from each other. Thiswill enable food products or the like to be placed within the outercontainer 12 while the inner container 14 serves as a separator orcompartment between the outer container contents and the productsreceived by it as will be apparent.

The rim or lip portion 48 of the inner container 14 is in the form of areversely extending skirt portion, having an upper radially outwardlyextending wall portion 50 and a depending flange 52 which is spacedlaterally outwardly and downwardly from the open upper end of the innercontainer 14 and which terminates in a free end portion 54 at the lowerend of the depending flange 52. The minimum distance between the freeend portion 54 of the inner container lip or rim portion 48 and adjacentportions of the side wall 46 in the vicinity thereof is large enough toaccommodate the lip or rim portion 24 of the outer container 12 thereinwith the depending flange slightly contacting or resting against outerperipheral areas of the rim portion 24. It is to be noted that theradial wall 50 and substantial portions of the depending flange 52extend or project upwardly from the top of the lip or rim portion 24 tofacilitate removal of the inner container 14 from the outer container 12by making it quite easy to change the contour of the rim or lip portion48 relative to the outer container lip or rim portion 24 when subjectedto a predetermined amount of force in a generally radially inwarddirection. This is described in detail in patent application Ser. No.512,377 filed Dec. 8, 1965, and assigned to the same assignee of thepresent invention.

In the lower side wall section of the inner container 14, there isprovided a stacking ring construction 56 including an upper internalshoulder 58, a lower external shoulder 60, and an intermediatesupporting section 62 which is reversely tapered with respect to theside wall 46. The stacking ring construction 56 of the inner container14 is the same as the stacking ring construction 26 of the outercontainer 12 in the sense that the minimum diameter of the internalshoulder 58 is smaller than by more than twice the side will thicknessof the external shoulder 60 so as to provide a resilient stack ofcontainers to avoid jamming as is now well known. The manner in whichthe inner containers 14 are stacked relative to one another is readilydepicted in FIG. of the drawings.

Intermediate the stacking ring construction 56 and the reverselyextending lip or rim portion 48 of the inner container 14 is at leastone pair of similarly configured and dimensioned locking portions 64, 66which are radially outwardly offset from adjacent portions of the sidewall 46. The locking portions 64, 66 are axially spaced from each otherso that the locking portion 64 engages the lid member 16 in the mannerto be described hereinafter with the locking portion 66 received withinthe internal groove 34 of the outer container 12 to releasably retainthe various elements of the compartmented container package in assembledrelationship.

The locking portion 66 serves as a circumferentially extending, radiallyoutwardly directed locking bead for reception within the internal groove34 of the outer container 12 and includes a base or sealing portion 68which coacts with the generally horizontally directed shelf portion 36of the internal groove 34, a generally vertically directed extension 70which is positioned adjacent the vertically extending wall portion '38of the internal groove 34 when the parts are assembled, and a reverselyangled or tapered section 72 which is inwardly and upwardly inclinedrelative to the extension 70 by an amount greater than the inward andupward inclination of the reversely tapered portion 40 of the internalgroove 34. The outer face of the reversely angled section 72 and thevertically directed extension 70 are .provided with a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced, raised lug portions 74 as best seen in FIG. 2of the drawings. The lugs 74 together with the reversely angled section72 not only underlie and engage the reversely tapered portion 40 of theouter container internal groove 34 to releasably retain the parts inassembled relationship, but provide interruptions or passageways betweenthe portion '40 and the section 72 while serving as a fulcruming pointfor those portions of the inner container 14 therebelow as will becomeapparent in the discussion that follows.

The upper locking portion 64 serves as an internal groove means incooperating with a radially outwardly projecting bead of the lid member16, as will be presently described, and includes a base or sealingportion 76 which is generally horizontally directed, an upwardlydirected or vertically upstanding portion 78 integrally connectedthereto, and an upwardly and inwardly inclined portion 80. Portions76-80 of the locking groove 64 are generally configured and positionedwith respect to one another in the same manner as the portion 3640 ofthe locking groove 34 formed on the outer container 12. The lockinggroove 64 of the inner container 12 engages the lid member 16 in themanner presently to be described.

The lid member 16 includes a relatively flat bottom wall or base portion82 which closes off the open upper end of the inner container 14 in thesame manner as the bottom wall 44 of the inner container 14 closes offthe open upper end of the outer container 12. A circumferentiallyextending, upwardly curving rib 84 is formed in the base or bottom wall82 of the lip member a short distance from the outer margins thereof soas to reinforce and strengthen the face or bottom wall 82. The maximumdiametrical extent or the rib 84 is slightly larger than the diameter ofthe outer container in the vicinity of the juncture between the bottomand side walls 20, 22 thereof so as to locate and center the outercontainer 12 of another comp-artmented container package 10 and stackedthereon.

The lid member further includes a circumferentially extending side wall86 which terminates at its upper end in a rim or lip portion 88 ofreversely directed character. The rim or lip portion 88 has a radiallyoutwardly directed top wall 90 and a depending flange 92 whichterminates in a free end .portion 94 in the same manner as the lip orrim portion 48 of the inner container 14. As best seen in FIG. 3 of thedrawings, the axial height of the lid member depending flange 92 issubstantially smaller than the axial height of the inner containerdepending flange 52, and the free end portion 94 of-the lid memberdepending flange 92 is spaced from adjacent portions of the lidmemberside wall 86 to cause the free end portion 94 to be positioned adjacentto and in overlying, generally encircling relationship to the innercontainer lip portion '48 as shown. The substantially larger axialheight of the inner container depending flange 52 as compared with thelip member depending flange 92, together with the relative positions ofthe lid member lip portion 88 relative to the inner container lipportion 48 and the latters position relative to the outer container rimportion 24, will facilitate separation of the outer and inner containers12, 14 from each other prior to the separation of the inner containerand lid member 14, 16 respectively. This is an important feature of thepresent invention since it is desirable to separate various elements ofthe compartmented container package without spilling the contentsthereof, and this will be accomplished by first causing the separationof the inner container and lid member 14, 16 respectively from the outercontainer 12 and the subsequent separation of the inner container andlid member 14, 16 from each other. It would be difiicult to preventspilling the contents of the inner container 14 if the lid member 16 wasseparated therefrom prior to separation of the outer and innercontainers 12, 14 respectively from each other since there must be, ofnecessity, some tilting of the parts being separated in effectingremoval, and unless there is a lid member on the inner container,

there is a high likelihood that some spilling of the inner containercontents would occur.

At the juncture of the base or bottom wall 82 and the side wall 86 ofthe lid member 16, there is formed a radially outwardly directed lockingbead 96 which is complementary in configuration to the locking groove 64of the inner container 12. Specifically, the locking head 96 includes,in addition to the outer peripheral portions of the base or bottom wall82 forming a part thereof, a generally vertically extending portion 98which corresponds to the generally vertical or upwardly directed portion78 of the locking groove 64. Portion 98 is joined to the outerperipheral margin of the base or bottom wall 82 at its lower end, itsupper end being integrally connected to the upwardly and inwardlyinclined or reversely tangled section 100. The section 100 is angularlydisposed relative to the portion 98 at a sharper angle that thecorresponding portions of the inner container designated 80, 78respectively. On the outer face of the reversely angled section 100there is provided a plurality of lug portions 102 in the same manner asthe lugs 74 on the outer face of the reversely angled section 70 formedon the inner container. Lugs 102 of the lid member 16 function in thesame manner as the lugs 74 formed on the inner container 14. The lugs102 not only engage and underlie the reversely tapering portion 80, butalso space the section 100 therefrom while serving as a fulcrum or pivotfor the portions of the lid member which are axially spaced downwardlytherefrom as will now be discussed.

When the various elements of the compartmented container package areassembled as shown in the drawings with food products of the type whichgenerate gaseous pressure positioned within the inner and outercontainers, it is necessary to provide a unidirectional venting of thegaseous pressure emanating from the container contents to avoidundesirable separation of the various elements of the package. Asalluded to above, this is accomplished by the provision of venting meansin the vicinity of each cooperating locking bead-groove in the containerpackage. In the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, the ventingmeans takes the form of a circumferential series of raised lugs 74, 102which coact to provide venting passageways between the elements or partsof the container package With specific reference to FIG. 4 of thedrawing, it will be seen that fermentation of food products containedwithin the inner and outer container will create gaseous pressure asindicated by the arrows. This may be due either to a change intemperature which increases the pressure of the trapped gas or due topressures of the gas generated in the compartments of the containerpackage,

or a combination of each. In any case, the development of gaseouspressure will, in the case of the outer and inner containers 12, 14force portions 68, 70 of the inner container locking bead 66 away fromcorresponding portions 36, 38 of the outer container internal lockinggroove 34 to provide a passageway for the egress of the gaseouspressure. The lugs 74 of the inner container locking bead 66 underliethe inwardly and upwardly inclined portion 40 of the outer containerlocking groove 34 while spacing or separating portions thereof from eachother to enable the developed pressure to move past the lockingbead-groove construction into the space between the rim portion 24 ofthe outer container and the lip portion 48 of the inner container. Asthe depending flange 52 of the inner container lip portion 48 merelyrests against outer peripheral areas of the outer container rim portion24, the depending flange 52 is easily moved laterally outwardly relativeto the outer container rim portion by the developed gaseous pressure asis shown in FIG. 4.

Similarly, gaseous pressure emanating from the inner container 14 willmove outer peripheral portions of the bottom wall or space 82 as well asthe vertically directed portion 98 of the locking head 96 away fromcorresponding or complementary engaging portions 76, 78 of the innercontainer locking groove 64. The raised lugs 102 formed on the lockingbead 96 will releasably retain the lip member 16 to the inner container14 while permitting the gaseous pressure to move past the locking beadgroove construction and then pass the depending flange 92 of the lidmember lip portion to the surrounding atmosphere.

It will be appreciated that this venting of the outer and innercontainers is accomplished while the inner container is assembled to theouter container and the lid member is, in turn, held in place on theinner container. It will also be appreciated that the separation of thevarious portions of the cooperating locking bead-grooves is accomplishedby a radial contraction of the inner container and lid members resultingfrom the forces acting thereupon. In the case of the lid member, it willbe seen that the base or bottom wall 82 thereof is quite easily bowed asshown in FIG. 4 whereas the inner container requires bowing of itsbottom wall and deflection of other portions thereof providing a numberof forces upon the inner container, the sum of which is suflicient tocause radial contraction and separation of the portions of the lockingbead 66 and internal locking groove 34 of the inner and outer containers14, 12 respectively.

It is to be further noted that the lid member 16 further includes ahorizontally extending shelf of sufficient dimension to receive thebottom wall of a similarly configured lid thereupon with the lockingbead 96 of the superposed lids spaced from adjacent side wall portionsof the subjacent lid. The manner in which the lids 16 can be stacked oneupon the other is readily depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4c of U.S. Patent No.3,061,139.

From the foregoing, it will now be appreciated that the presentinvention provides a novel compartmented container package which aifordseasy separation of the various compartments or elements thereof fromeach other without spilling of the contents of the comp-artment andwhich provides, in the case of food products or the like which generategaseous pressure, unidirectional venting of the container compartmentswhile retaining the compartments in assembled relationship.

The underlying principles of the present invention can be obtained byvarious modifications which are to be considered within the scopethereof. It will, of course, be apparent that cooperating lockingbead-groove constructions in each of the elements of the package can beemployed, varying in size, shape and location. In this connection,specific reference is made to U.S. Patent No. 3,061,139 for variousrepresentative forms of locking bead-groove constructions which are tobe considered insofar as the present invention is concerned in anexemplary, and not a limiting sense. Reference to U.S. Patent No.3,061,139 will also reveal other types of venting means in the form ofoffsets, grooves, and the like which may be employed to achieve thedesired venting between the compartments or elements of the package. Asis the case with U.S. Patent No. 3,061,139, the venting means includesany form which permits venting through the locking bead-grooveconstruction of a package only upon the development of gaseous pressuretherein. If desired, a supplementary sealing means such as lugs 106 inlid member 16, corresponding to that in U.S. Patent No. 3,061,139, maybe formed in any of the elements of the package axially spaced upwardlyfrom the cooperating locking bead-groove construction to prevent sealingengagement therebetween.

Although a specific embodiment of the present invention has been shownand described it is with full awareness that many modifications thereofin addition to those specifically mentioned are possible. The invention,therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated byprior :art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

I claim;

1. A self-venting compartmented container package comprising an outercontainer, an inner container, and a lid therefor, each of said outerand inner containers having a bottom wall and a side wall which divergesupwardly and outwardly therefrom and terminates in an open upper end,the side wall of each container including a circumferentially extendingintern-a1 groove radially outwardly offset from other portions of theside wall, said outer container having adjacent its open upper end acircumferential rim of an axial height and lateral extent greater thanthe thickness of its side wall, said inner container having apredetermined smaller transverse dimension than said outer container tobe telescopically received therein and having a substantial shorter sidewall to assure spacing the bottom walls of said containers apredetermined distance from each other, the inner container adjacent itsopen upper end terminating in a reversely extending lip portion foroverlying the circumferential rim of said outer container, said lidmember being positioned in covering relationship to the open upper endof said inner container and also having a reversely extending lipportion which is positioned adjacent the inner container lip portion inembracing encircling relationship relative thereto, said inner containerand lid member each having a circumferentially arranged radiallyoutwardly directed bead of predetermined size and configuration to bereceived and releasably retained within the circumferentially extendinggroove of said outer and inner containers respectively, each of saidouter and inner containers and said lid member in the vicinity of andaxially spaced below each cooperating bead and groove havingcomplementary surfaces normally engaging one another to hermeticallyseal and protect the contents of the inner and outer containers, and oneof each of said outer and inner containers and said lid member and innercontainer having venting means in the vicinity of each cooperating beadand groove and axially spaced upwardly from the normally engaged sealingsurfaces to permit egress of gaseous pressure emanating from the outerand inner containers while the cooperating bead and groove of said innerand outer containers and said lid and inner container maintain the partsin assembled relationship.

2. The self-venting package as defined in claim 1 wherein the inner andouter containers and the lid member each have a seamless, thin-walledthermoplastic construction.

3. The self-venting package defined in claim 1 wherein the inner andouter containers and said lid member each include a stacking means fortelescoping, non-jamming stacking of a plurality of similarly configuredcontainers and lid members with respect to one another.

4. The self-venting package as defined in claim 1 wherein the radiallyoutwardly offset circumferentially extending groove and the radiallyoutwardly directed circumferentially arranged bead of said innercontainer are axially spaced from each other in the side wall thereof bya distance less than the stack height of a plurality of similarlyconfigured inner containers.

5. The self-venting package as defined in claim 4 where the radiallyoutwardly offset portions in the side wall of said inner containerforming a circumferentially extending internal groove and thecircumferentially arranged bead are substantially identically configuredand dimensioned with respect to each other.

6. A compartmented container package comprising an outer container, aninner container and a lid therefor, each having a seamless, thin-wallthermoplastic construction and including a bottom wall and a side wallwhich extends upwardly and generally outwardly therefrom and whichterminates in a lip portion at the upper end thereof, the lip portion ofsaid outer container having a greater axial height and lateral widththan the thickness of said side wall, the lip portions of said innercontainer and lid member comprising a reversely extending skirt portionwhich terminates in a free end portion spaced laterally outwardly anddownwardly from its upper end, the minimum distance between the free endof said inner container lip portion and its adjacent side wall beinglarge enough to accommodate the lip portion of said outer container, thefree end portion of said lid member lip portion being positionedadjacent to and in overlying and encircling relationship to the innercontainer lip portion whensaid lid member is mounted on said innercontainer, and complementary engaging portions provided in the side wallof each container and lid member for retaining said inner and outercontainers and said lid and inner container in assembled relationship toeach other, the axial height of said inner container lip portion beingsufficiently greater than that of said lid member lip portion tofacilitate separation of said inner and outer containers prior to theseparation of said inner container and lid member from each other.

7. The composite container package as defined in claim 6 wherein saidcomplementary engaging portions includes means providing for snap actionengagement and release of the containers and lid member from each other.

8. The composite container package as defined in claim 7 wherein saidcomplementary engaging means are also associated with venting meanspermitting egress of gaseous pressure emanating from the outer and innercontainers of said container package.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,047,199 7/1962 McBain 220-23 X3,061,139 10/1962 Edwards 22044 3,072,275 12/1962 Bostrom 229143,323,706 6/1967 Gereke 229-15 FOREIGN PATENTS 973,490 2/1951 France.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

GEORGE E. LOWRANCE, Examiner.

1. A SELF-VENTING COMPARTMENT CONTAINER PACKAGE COMPRISING AN OUTERCONTAINER, AN INNER CONTAINER, AND A LID THEREFOR, EACH OF SAID OUTERAND INNER CONTAINERS HAVING A BOTTOM WALL AND A SIDE WALL WHICH DIVERGESUPWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY THEREFROM AND TERMINATES IN AN OPEN UPPER END,THE SIDE WALL OF EACH CONTAINER INCLUDING A CIRCUMFERENTIALLY EXTENDINGINTERNAL GROOVE RADIALLY OUTWARDLY OFFSET FROM OTHER PORTIONS OF THESIDE WALL, SAID OUTER CONTAINER HAVING ADJACENT ITS OPEN UPPER END ACIRCUMFERENTIAL RIM OF AN AXIAL HEIGHT AND LATERAL EXTENT GREATER THANTHE THICKNESS OF ITS SIDE WALL, SAID INNER CONTAINER HAVING APREDETERMINED SMALLER TRANSVERSE DIMENSION THAN SAID OUTER CONTAINER TOBE TELESCOPICALLY RECEIVED THEREIN AND HAVING A SUBSTANTIAL SHORTER SIDEWALL TO ASSURE SPACING THE BOTTOM WALLS OF SAID CONTAINERS APREDETERMINED DISTANCE FROM EACH OTHER, THE INNER CONTAINER ADJACENT ITSOPEN UPPER END TERMINATING IN A REVERSELY EXTENDING LIP PORTION FOROVERLYING THE CIRCUMFERENTIAL RIM OF SAID OUTER CONTAINER, SAID LIDMEMBER BEING POSITIONED IN COVERING RELATIONSHIP TO THE OPEN UPPER ENDOF SAID INNER CONTAINER AND ALSO HAVING A REVERSELY EXTENDING LIPPORTION WHICH IS POSITIONED ADJACENT THE INNER CONTAINER LIP PORTION INEMBRACING ENCIRCLING RELATIONSHIP RELATIVE THERETO, SAID INNER CONTAINERENCIRCLING MEMBER EACH HAVING A CIRCUMFERENTIALLY ARRANGEDRADICONFIGURATION TO BE RECEIVED AND RELEASABLY RETAINEDWITHCONFIGURATION TO BE RECEIVED AND RELEASABLY RETAINED WITHIN THECIRCUMFERENTIALLY EXTENDING GROOVE OF SAID OUTER AND INNER CONTAINERSRESPECTIVELY, EACH OF SAID OUTER AND INNER CONTAINERS AND SAID LIDMEMBER IN THE VICINITY OF AND AXIALLY SPACED BELOW EACH COOPERATING BEADAND GROOVE HAVING COMPLEMENTARY SURFACES NORMALLY ENGAGING ONE ANOTHERTO HERMETICALLY SEAL AND PROTECT THE CONTENTS OF THE INNER AND OUTERCONTAINERTS, AND ONE OF EACH OF SAID OUTER AND INNER CONTAINERS AND SAIDLID MEMBER AND INNER CONTAINER HAVING VENTING MEANS IN THE VICINITY OFEACH COOPERATING BEAD AND GROOVE AND AXIALLY SPACED UPWARDLY FROM THENORMALLY ENGAGED SEALING SURFACE TO PERMIT EGRESS OF GASEOUS PRESSUREEMANATING FROM THE OUTER AND INNER CONTAINERS WHILE THE COOPERATING BEASAND GROOVE OF SAID INNER AND OUTER CONTAINERS AND SAID LID AND INNERCONTAINER MAINTAIN THE PARTS IN ASSEMBLED RELATIONSHIP.